Sanctuary
by Drivelicious
Summary: When Draco shows up on Harry's door step holding a sleeping child, Harry has no idea how completely changed his life will be in a only a few months time.
1. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the writings of JK Rowling. This was only written for fun and my own sanity.

Harry stretched out on his sofa and contemplated what he should do for the evening. He knew he could probably find something to watch on the telly but he wasn't motivated enough to find the remote. He could Accio it but that would take more effort than he had. Every muscle burned and he cursed Oliver Wood under his breath. It was his stupid idea to form an alumni Quidditch team. It was his idea to work the team just as rigorously as he had at Hogwarts, and frankly Harry was feeling old. He was only twenty- eight but he'd barely had time to sit on a broom in the last several years let alone actually play. He was out of shape.

Harry was about to slip into sleep when he heard an insistent knocking. He wasn't used to people using his front door. He'd opened the Floo to all of his friends and they were at a point where they never even asked before coming in. Harry was always suspicious of anyone using his front door so he grabbed his wand and headed into the hall.

He opened the door cautiously, ready to throw a hex if need be. He never would have expected what he found. Draco Malfoy was on his doorstep holding a sleeping child.

"Malfoy? What . . .," he was cut off by Draco pushing inside.

"Shhhh," Draco whispered. "She's asleep."

"I can see that. What are you doing here?"

"Sanctuary. I'm claiming my right of sanctuary."

"What? What are you talking about?" Harry asked in a hushed tone.

"Where can I put her? She needs a bed. You wouldn't turn away a child would you? You're too much of a hero for that."

Harry ignored the hero comment. He hated being called a hero. He was nothing special. Not anymore. "Right, come up." He led Draco up the stairs and into the nursery. "In here."

Harry lit the dim lamp by the small bed covered in pink blankets. He pulled back the comforter and motioned Draco to lay the small girl down. He watched as Draco carefully set her down, pulling off her shoes and sweater. He was very tender and Harry felt a familiar pang, that he was missing something significant in his life. He looked at the little girl with her soft blonde curls. He imagined that if her eyes were open, she'd have pale gray eyes like Draco. Her father? She was beautiful; there was no doubt about that.

He backed out of the room and stood in the hall, leaning against the wall opposite the nursery.

Draco stepped out a few minutes later, looking exhausted and weary. "Can I put an alert spell on the room? So I'll know if she wakes?"

"Of course," Harry answered. "Come on down to the kitchen. We'll talk."

"Can I use the loo first?"

"This bedroom here, it has an attached loo." Harry pointed in the direction of the bedroom and looked on as Draco quietly nodded and passed by. Harry was confused. He never expected Malfoy to show up at his home, and certainly not with a sleeping child. He painfully dragged himself down the stairs to start some tea. He grabbed a bottle of whisky when he passed the parlor. He felt he would need it.

Draco appeared in the kitchen and to Harry's mind, he looked a little better. He'd probably washed his face and combed his hair.

"Bloody confusing house Potter," Draco said, leaning in the doorway. "I had a hard time finding the kitchen."

"Sorry about that. Most of the people who visit have lived here at one time or another. I forgot my manners."

"Manners," Draco scoffed. "Right."

"I wasn't raised in a barn Malfoy. A barn probably would have been a nicer place to be raised however. Have a seat. Tea is brewing. Are you hungry?"

"I suppose there are a few manners in you. I'm fine. Thanks." Draco sat at the table and folded his hands. Harry watched the long fingers with curiosity. Malfoy almost looked nervous.

"So, why are you here?" Harry asked, taking a seat across from Draco.

"Sanctuary. I needed a safe place so I thought I'd invoke the right."

"Sanctuary? This isn't a church. This is my home."

"Sanctuary, Potter. Surely you've heard of it. Asylum? Protection?"

"I understand the concept but I've only heard of it being invoked in a church."

"So sad that you were raised by Muggles," Draco said with a heavy sigh. "I really hate describing things."

"Look Malfoy, I get that you are in need of a safe place for that little girl. I'm not heartless, I let you in. The fact remains that I haven't seen you in over eight years! Not since your father's trial. Last I heard you went traveling the world. Now you are on my doorstep with your daughter and asking for my help. Excuse me for being confused."

"First, Lucy is not my daughter, she's my sister. Second, yes I did travel a bit but I've been back for over three years. Third, I do need your help but only because you are living in the house of the Blacks." Draco paused to take a sip of tea. "Look, there is a Wizarding right of sanctuary. If someone needs protection for something pure and good, the right of sanctuary exists in a familial home. I needed to protect Lucy. Because I am protecting her from our father, I needed to find a home belonging to the Black side of my family. Mother's childhood home was destroyed by crazy Aunt Bella so here I am. I'm the last of the Blacks after all. This was the only place I could think where Lucy would be safe."

"Why are you protecting Lucy from your father?"

"Long sordid tale that I can't get into it right now. Can we stay?"

"You hate me, you'll probably kill me in my sleep." Harry peered at Draco over his cup.

"I don't hate you and I'm not homicidal. I don't like you much. That part is true, but I need your help. This is your home by all rights so you have a right to say no. It's only for a few days. I'll sort something out."

"You can stay but I want more answers tomorrow."

"I'll try. I can't promise you." Draco bent his head over his cup and Harry could see a flash of pain behind his eyes.

"Well, let me give you a quick tour and then I'm going to bed." Harry pushed back from the table and waited for Draco to follow. It was going to be interesting having a house guest like Draco Malfoy.

Author's Note: I'd love to hear what you think. The story is nearly complete but I have a few holes that could be filled by the thoughts in the comments. I've been known to change direction based on your thoughts! I'm also looking for a beta so if anyone would be interested in getting first shot at reading this whole story and would like to help me with my comma challenges, I'd love some help. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

***Thank you so much for the positive reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy! ***Disclaimer: I have no claim on the characters and am only writing for my own entertainment.

Harry woke early feeling better than he had when he'd gone to sleep. There was something to be said for Muggle pain relievers. He made his way down the stairs and stopped on the second floor where his houseguests were probably still sleeping. He peaked into the open door of the nursery and saw Lucy, very much awake, sitting quietly on the bed.

"Hello," he whispered.

"Hi," she answered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Harry. This is my house. Your brother brought you here last night."

"Are you going to hurt me?" she asked.

"Of course not." Harry could sense her fear so he sat on the bed closest to the door, giving her space. "Has someone hurt you?"

"Are those your dolls?" she asked, skillfully changing the subject despite her age.

"They belong to another little girl, but you can play with them if you want." Harry watched as she scooted off the bed and carefully picked up the doll. "How old are you?"

"Three. Where's Draco?"

"Sleeping I think."

"Where's my father?"

"I don't know."

"Is he coming here?" Lucy asked, moving the doll's arm back and forth.

"No," Harry said quietly.

"Promise?" Lucy turned those striking clear eyes on Harry.

"I promise." Harry wondered again at the situation he had been thrust into.

He glanced over toward the doorway and saw Draco shuffle into the room. He'd obviously slept in his clothes and Harry cursed himself that he hadn't thought to give him anything to wear.

"Good morning," Draco said in a hoarse voice. "I expected to wake before Lucy. I'm sorry if she disturbed you."

"Not at all. I noticed she was awake when I passed by."

"Draco! Harry has dolls!"

"I see," Draco said with a chuckle. He lifted an eyebrow and gave Harry a smirk. "Dolls Potter?" He turned back to Lucy, "We should go get you cleaned up."

"I'm hungry."

"I'll get breakfast going," Harry said, moving toward the wardrobe. He pulled out a pink sweater and a pair of pink knit pants. "These should fit her. I'll get a change of clothes for you as well."

"Thanks Potter," Draco said as he accepted the small clothes.

Harry jogged back up the stairs and opened his wardrobe. He was shorter than Draco but he did have a new pair of slacks that hadn't been hemmed yet. Those might work. They were both thin and he thought their waist size would be close. He pulled down one of his smaller sweaters as Draco wasn't as broad in the shoulders. It would have to do for now. As for undergarments, Draco was on his own.

He grabbed the pile and headed downstairs to see Draco and Lucy emerging from the bedroom. It was clear that her face had been washed and her hair combed. She was wearing the clean outfit. Harry handed the men's clothes to Draco. "I hope these will do. They are new. I hope they fit. There should be soap in the washroom. How about I take Lucy down to the kitchen and we'll get breakfast going while you clean up?"

"Lucy? Are you okay to go with Harry?" Draco knelt down to talk to his sister.

"He says he won't hurt me."

Harry could see the anguish in Draco's eyes. "No. He won't hurt you. It's safe."

"Okay!" Lucy said cheerfully as she grabbed Harry's hand. "Can we have cake?"

"Not for breakfast!" Harry laughed as he walked her down the stairs and away from Draco.

Thirty minutes later, a cleaned up Draco entered the kitchen. Harry took one look at the casually dressed man and smiled. "They fit."

"Well enough. I appreciate it. I didn't have time to grab clothes."

"Have a seat and have some coffee or I can heat water for tea. Lucy chose eggs and bacon for breakfast. I hope that works."

"Coffee is perfect and breakfast sounds good. Is he a good cook Lucy?"

"Yup." The little girl grinned a greasy smile as she chewed her last piece of bacon. "He made it like you do."

"Excellent." Draco poured his coffee and took a sniff at the strong brew. "You have no idea how good this coffee smells."

"Nothing like coffee," Harry agreed.

"So where are the wife and kids?" Draco asked.

"What wife and kids?" Harry asked.

"The Weaslette and the fruit of your loins."

Harry choked on his tea before chuckling. "Nice way to put it Malfoy. I'm not married and I don't have any children. Ginny is happily married to Dean Thomas."

"Really? What happened? I figured you were destined to be a Weasley."

"I am a Weasley. At heart anyway. Molly and Arthur are the only parent's I've ever known."

"That's terribly sweet," Draco drawled. "Disgustingly sweet. So why do you have a nursery full of toys and children's clothes?"

"I'm a fabulous Godfather. I have five God-Children and they often stay over. It was just easier to have a few things around."

"Five people trust you to look after their children? Imbeciles."

"It's only because Lucy is in the room that I'm not hexing you. You let me look after your sister for the half hour you were showering."

"Point taken. You are so damn trustworthy. So whose clothes is my sister wearing?"

"They belong to Rose Weasley, Ron and Hermione's daughter. They have a son as well, Hugo. He's just a baby which is the reason for the crib."

"So Weasel and Granger actually mated?"

"What's mated?" Lucy asked.

"Got married. I meant to say got married."

"Yes, they got married. They are coming over this morning. Lucy can play with Rosie."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Draco said. "Can we trust them?"

"Honestly? You are asking me if we can trust my best friends? Ron may not be happy about you being in my kitchen but they will not do anything to bring harm to a little girl." Harry glanced over as his Floo burst to life. "Here they come."

"Harry will you please tell your best friend to stop. . . Oh! Malfoy. What a . . . Well. . . What a pleasant surprise," Hermione choked out.

"Malfoy?" Ron stepped from the Floo, put Rose down, and immediately marched over to Draco. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Ron." Harry stood up and put a hand on his chest. "We'll discuss everything but not right now and not with the kids in the room."

"Kids. Right." Ron cleared his throat and looked sheepishly over at Hermione. "Sorry."

"So, Malfoy, is this your daughter? She's beautiful." Hermione handed Hugo over to Ron and walked over and kneeled down by Lucy. "How old are you?"

"She's my sister, Lucy, and she's three," Malfoy said, glaring daggers at the Weasleys. "I hope you don't mind that she's wearing your daughter's clothes."

"Not at all. They fit her well. Rose is also three. Rosie? Come and say hello to Lucy. Would you girls like to go play in the nursery?"

"Are the dolls yours?" Lucy asked Rose.

Rose nodded and smiled. "Do you want to play with them? I have clothes and a house. I love Barbies."

"What's Barbies?" Lucy asked, wrinkling her little forehead.

"That's what the dolls are. They are Barbies. I don't know why."

"Hello!" Molly Weasley announced herself as she stepped from the Floo. "Grandmum is here!"

"Hi Mum," Harry said greeting his surrogate mother with a kiss on the cheek. "Draco and his sister Lucy are visiting." He gave her a pointed look, silently pleading that she'd just accept what he said and not make an issue out of it.

"Well wonderful," Molly said, not missing a beat. She gave Harry a wink before turning to Draco. "Hello Mr. Malfoy, it's lovely to see you again."

"Um, thanks Mrs. Weasley. Hope you've been well," Draco stammered, clearly surprised by her welcome.

"I have, thank you. Well, you must be Lucy; you are such a lovely little girl. Shall we go to the nursery Rosie? We'll show Lucy where your toys are."

"Draco?" Lucy looked at her big brother with wide eyes. "Is she safe?"

Draco's eyes clouded and rage built inside. He hated to hear the fear in Lucy's voice. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley is very safe. You go play and if you need me, I'll be right here."

"Give that handsome boy to me," Mrs. Weasley said as she took Hugo from Ron's arms. "Come along girls, let's go have some fun."

The adults waited until the girls were out of earshot before settling down with coffee and muffins that Ron had brought.

"So talk Malfoy. Why are you here?" Ron asked while reaching for a muffin.

"None of your business Weasley."

"Actually Draco, you might as well talk. You promised me an explanation last night. Obviously you are hiding from your father but why? Ron and Hermione are trustworthy." Harry pointed at his friends.

"They hate me," Draco said with a shrug.

"We don't hate you Draco," Hermione said. "But we're not going to let you stay with our best friend without an explanation. Surely you know we'd do anything to protect Harry as he'd do the same for us."

"So Potter, did you set up this little meeting to ambush me? You even brought in a babysitter?" Draco scowled and glared at his tea.

"This meeting is a regular Saturday morning occurrence actually and yes, since Rose was born, we've always had someone to babysit. This week was Molly's turn."

"Why do you meet every Saturday?"

"None of your busin. . . " Ron was cut off by a swift kick to his shin.

"We can't actually tell you that but just know that it's more than just a get together with coffee and muffins," Hermione said.

"Your turn Draco," Harry said softly. "I need to know what's going on."

"If my father or his cronies find out I'm talking to you, I will be killed. You have to understand what that means. If I die, which I don't really care about, Lucy will have nobody to protect her. I can't help her if I'm dead."

"What you say here is confidential. You have to trust us," Harry said, looking Draco directly in his eyes. "Trust me."

Draco sighed. "My father is attempting to become another Dark Lord. He has gathered the rest of the free Death Eaters and is trying to build a new army."

"We've suspected that for a while," Ron said. "From what we can tell, he's not accomplishing much. All of our research shows that while your father is extremely intelligent and skilled with magic, he's not nearly as powerful as Voldemort or Harry. We haven't even been able to catch him doing anything illegal."

Draco snorted. "No, he's not all that powerful. He knows a handful of dark magic but that doesn't give him superpowers. He's charismatic and wealthy however, and that draws people toward him. He's probably got a dozen wizards and witches doing his bidding, and they have minions of their own. As for what is legal and what isn't, out in the open he's a respectable citizen but behind closed doors. . . Well, I don't know much but it's not pleasant."

"So why did you bring Lucy here?" Hermione asked.

"To protect her. There are a few Death Eaters that take great joy in harming pretty little girls." Draco slammed his fist against the table and stood up from his chair. "I didn't know what else to do! I had to get her out of there."

Harry stood and put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Did they molest her?"

Draco looked up with tear filled eyes. "I don't think so. Not yet, but I'm sure that was the next step. They've abused her in every other way and I didn't know. I didn't know what was going on until two days ago. I heard them and heard her crying for them leave. They were scaring her and I couldn't get to her, there were so many wards on the door. I went to Father and he just shrugged it off. He didn't care! The bastard didn't care. He's already taking offers for her when she's older. He's going to sell her to the highest bidder. My father is letting them do to her what he let them do to . . . Well, I had to get her out of there. I got a chance and I took it."

Ron had joined the men standing and put both hands on Draco's shoulders. "You have my word that nobody will ever hurt that little girl again. Nobody. No matter what I think of you, I'm going to help you protect your sister."

"Thank you," Draco whispered. He took a moment to compose himself and stood up straighter. "Weasley, I'm willing to admit that I might have been wrong about you. Either that or you've changed. Thank you, all of you."

Harry turned and saw Hermione quietly weeping. She hadn't moved from her place at the table. "Are you okay?" He walked over to kneel beside her and pulled her into a hug.

"It's just so awful. She's the same age as Rose. I was. . . Well we have to stop them don't we?" She wiped her tears on her sleeve and looked at Draco. "Who is Lucy's mother? Why isn't she protecting her daughter."

Draco sat down again and sipped his now cool coffee. "From what I understand, she was a Muggle. After Mother died, Father had an extremely brief period of mourning before deciding that he wanted another son. One who wouldn't be so weak." He grinned into his mug. "I am quite the disappointment. He pretty much had this woman under his control as a concubine of sorts. His whole goal was to get her pregnant and she just fawned all over him. It was disgusting. Anyway, he was very angry when a little girl was born and he parted ways with the mother."

"Why didn't she take Lucy with her if your father didn't want her?" Hermione asked.

"When I say parted ways, I mean that he disposed of her. I doubt that she's still alive. From what I understand, she was kept in the manor long enough to nurse Lucy for a few months and then father ordered some of his men to take her away. Word has it that she was raped and beaten so if she's alive, she's long gone."

"Shouldn't we look for her?" Hermione asked.

"No," Draco answered. "She was under a spell the whole time she was with my father. She won't remember even having a child - that is if she is still alive. It's better that she not have any memories anyway."

"Obviously Lucius is more twisted now than ever," Harry said. "He is allowing harm to come to his own child. I thought family was very important to him."

"He wanted a son though, maybe Lucy is worthless to him because she's a girl," Ron said.

"No, he just hasn't changed. He's always been a sick man. He didn't protect me any more than he protected her. I was firmly under his control and was bred to be used. Mother was the only thing that kept me sane - or as sane as I could have been. She kept the worst away as she did have some control over Father. I don't want to talk about that though." Draco stood and walked to the door.

Hermione exchanged a glance with Ron before turning back to Draco. "If Lucius has given up on you and doesn't want Lucy, do you think he's looking for you?"

"I know he's looking for us. Like I said, Lucy is a commodity. She'll be given to the highest paying death eater when she's older. He doesn't want me wandering free because I know too much. He's looking for us, I guarantee it. I'm going to go check on Lucy. Feel free to talk about me behind my back."

Ron waited a few seconds after the door closed before he looked at his wife and friend. "What are you going to do Harry? Are you going to let him stay?"

"I don't see as I have much choice. He needs help but more importantly Lucy needs shelter."

"Obviously she is top priority," Hermione said. "We have to find a way to get Lucius put in Azkaban forever with no chance of coming out. That's the only way she'll be safe to lead a normal life. We need to round up his followers as well."

"Well, we have a mission," Harry said. "Finally something to do. I think we need Draco's help though. He knows more about what's going on than any of us do."

"Yeah, of course," Ron said. "I'll go get him."

"No, I'll go. I'll bring Molly some tea and check on the kids." Hermione rose from her seat and poured a cup of tea. "I'll be back in a few.


End file.
